Jane Seymour had married King Henry VIII three days earlier, but it wasn't until this day in 1536 that she made her first public appearance as England's new Queen. Of course, there were still murmurings around the court (and the whole of the realm) about the indecency of the King's hasty remarriage, just days after his second wife's decapitation. But Henry and Jane were determined not to let public unrest and disapproval haunt them as they began their blissful new life together. Elizabeth Norton, author of Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love, insists that Jane was very happy to be Queen, despite the fact that we have no evidence pointing towards her prior ambition or desire of the crown. In any case, after a few days of secrecy surrounding her new (and somewhat scandalous) marriage to the King, this day would have been a very happy one - when she could finally fill the shoes of the two women who had come before her. She was the Queen of England, and everyone would know it! Sir John Russell described the event in a letter to Lord Lisle, saying:

"The Queen sat abroad as Queen, and was served with her own servants. And they were sworn that same day. And the King and the Queen came in his great boat to Greenwich the same day, with his Privy Chamber and her[s], and the ladies in the great barge. I do ensure you, my Lord, she is as gentle a lady as ever I knew, and as fair a Queen as any in Christendom. The King hath come out of hell into heaven, for the gentleness of this, and the cursedness and unhappiness of the other," (p. 82).

Did anyone else catch the jab at Anne Boleyn? Ouch! But it was true - many people in and out of court considered this marriage to be of better quality than Henry's previous one. Despite the hasty wedding, people were very pleased with Jane and she seems to have made a great first impression on this day. According to Norton, she was also glad to create her household. All signs point to her enjoyment and excitement about royal life.

But Russell's comments weren't the only ones made in favor of Jane. Antony Wayte wrote in a letter on 16 June that Jane was "a very amiable lady, and of whom we all have great hope," (p. 82). Another said that she "is as gentle as can be." Even Thomas Cromwell had nice things to say about her - "Soo hath his grace I thinke chose the vertuost lady and the veriest gentlewoman that lyveth and oon that variethe asmoche from the conditions of thother [Anne] as the daye varietie from the night." People were recognizing very quickly just how different Jane was from Anne Boleyn. Cromwell makes a great and obvious point in this quote, describing these two woman as "day and night." It is one of the most pressing questions and matters of debate when discussing Jane Seymour: Did Henry choose her because of how different she was from Anne? After such a hot and cold marriage to the "love of his life," was he just looking for someone who was her polar opposite? Did he find that option safer, or was the meek, pale, submissive Jane truly more desirable to him at this point in his life? These are fun questions to ponder, but no matter the answer, it is clear that Jane was already beloved to the people on this day in 1536. And despite the fact that her reign next to Henry would be quite brief (since she would pass away the following year), these first steps as Queen of England were certainly promising, and showed her to be the kind, gentle, and ideal wife and Queen for Henry VIII.